Iran authorities said Monday they have arrested several operatives allegedly linked to Israel who attempted to sabotage an Iranian nuclear facility.
Iran has previously accused the Jewish state of attempting to sabotage its nuclear program, with it being claimed there have been increased efforts to do so since the announcement that the Democrat-led 2015 JCPOA nuclear deal – that was suspended by former President Donald Trump in 2018 – could be revived.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) intelligence unit claimed those arrested had “planned on sabotaging the Fordo facility and were arrested by the intelligence services of the Revolutionary Guards”.
The Fordo facility is Iran’s second uranium enrichment plant and was converted from a military tunnel facility into a nuclear powerplant that is located in a mountain near the city of Qom – roughly 110 miles from the capital of Tehran. Under the original 2015 agreement, Iran had pledged to cease operations at Fordo as part of their negotiations for sanctions relief.
The IRGC refused to reveal how many suspects they have arrested, nor how they are connected to Israel, France 24 reports.
Those arrested have been accused of approaching members of staff at the nuclear facility, and offering them payment in untraceable cryptocurrency and cash, in an effort to incentivise them to commit sabotage.
One individual was reportedly given “cash and a laptop to carry out the act of sabotage at the site”, but the plan was thwarted after one of the men approached alerted the relevant authorities.
The IRGC alleged a “spy officer, in the guise of a Hong Kong company and with the help of an intermediary” made contact with the Fordo employee.
In this April 9, 2018, file photo, released by an official website of the office of the Iranian Presidency, President Hassan Rouhani listens to explanations on new nuclear achievements at a ceremony to mark “National Nuclear Day,” in Tehran, Iran. (Iranian Presidency Office via AP)
The fate of the accused is unknown however Iran has a history of executing those it accuses of spying for Israel.
The Islamic dictatorship has previously accused Israel of multiple sabotage attempts on its nuclear facilities, but it is unclear whether Israel has had any involvement or whether Iran is simply scapegoating or distracting from its other disputes.
Previous allegations against Israel include accusing Israeli operatives of blowing up the Fordo plant’s powerlines in 2012, assassinating Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, a top Iranian nuclear scientist and two sabotage attempts on the Natanz uranium enrichment facility in 2020.
Iran has also blamed Israel for an attack in February on an airbase near Kermanshah, in Western Iran where hundreds of Iranian drones were destroyed, Israel has not however confirmed or denied their involvement in this.